Leslie Estada swirls around the dance floor as she and other members of Ballet Folklorico La Paloma perform at the first Chiquita's Fountain of Dreams fundraiser.

photos by kelly presnell / Arizona Daily Star

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When doctors diagnosed Sara "Chiquita" Machiche with ovarian cancer and gave her three months to live, her family asked her if she could have one wish before she passed, what it would be? She wished for a trip to Hawaii, but the family was unable to raise the money to send here there before she died.

Now the family is trying to make sure others with serious illnesses get what could be their last wishes, said Grace Marquez, vice president of Chiquita's Fountain of Dreams.

The family created the nonprofit group, and on Sunday hosted a daylong event at Las Cazuelitas Event Center, 1365 W. Grant Road, to raise money to grant last wishes to patients with serious illnesses.

The day was filled with live music, dancing and fashion shows. Vendors raffled off prizes and sold back-to-school items and clothes.

Money came from the raffles, donations and the $5 cover charge for an evening dance.

Fountain of Dreams' grassroots efforts have enabled the group to grant the wishes of seven patients since the organization was created in March 2007.

Those wishes included a big-screen television for a man with poor eyesight who had a brain tumor, and funeral expenses for a 17-year-old.

"The young lady wanted 17 doves to be released at her funeral," Marquez said. "Many times we are racing against time, because most of the patients we work with are terminal."

The proceeds for Sunday's events will go to Gabriela Sosa, who has lymphoma, and Javier Vasquez, who needs a kidney transplant. Sosa was diagnosed in November and has undergone chemotherapy but needs a PET scan to determine her prognosis. She has no insurance and cannot cover the nearly $2,600 fee for the service, but she is hopeful.

"I feel blessed that I found people who were willing to help me," Sosa said. "When I get better, it makes me want to help others with the same problem."

Contributors to Sunday's festivities included Desert Computers, Westside Hope, Mary Kay and Rockin' Queen Clothing. Toque de Pasion Boutique, specializing in South American clothing, organized one of the fashion shows, putting in more than 30 hours of planning. Melissa McCormick, co-owner of the Tucson fair-trade organic clothing shop, believes in the "community-rooted" aspect of Fountain of Dreams.

"For me, it's important to support Chiquita, because everybody knows about Make a Wish Foundation, but a lot of people don't have access," McCormick said. "Fountain of Dreams is embedded in the Latino community, and most importantly, they speak Spanish."